4. Remote Data Logging

Data often needs to be collected from places that are nowhere near a nice cosy office.

The data might need to be collected at all times of the day and night or during weekends when people might be away from work.

Data might also need to be collected from dangerous places such as volcanoes or from places where it is not practical or safe for a human to be, maybe deep in the ocean, in the upper atmosphere or even on other planets.

The planetary explorer called 'Curiosity' shown opposite is actually on Mars and is packed with sophisticated sensors. All the data it is collecting is sent back to Earth over a satellite link.

Remote data logging means that the sensors collect data 'out in the field' and pass it to a portable data logger.

The data logger then relays the data either wirelessly, by fibre-optic cables or possibly even by satellite, back to a computer ready for analysis.